Transcript THE KNOWLEDGE ENTERPRISE

RE-CONTEXTUALISING THE
UNIVERSITY
M. S. Ananth
Director
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
Chennai 600 036
THE TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITY
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Sole repository of civilisations’ intellectual
content
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Monopoly on knowledge and learning
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Exclusive right to provide education and training
o
Sole creator of new knowledge
o
Constrained in space and time
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ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
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Economic Shifts
Knowledge revolutions
Learning Paradigms
Infrastructure/ Experimentation
Networking/ Outsourcing
Distance Education
Innovation
India Centric Concerns
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THE NEED FOR A RESPONSE
In responding to changes in the environment of
higher education “we should not seek to redesign
a successful university, but rather to initiate
changes that enhance what is good and vital, and
create what is necessary to flourish in a future
less friendly to higher education”
Indiana University, Strategic Directions Report ‘96
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1. ECONOMIC SHIFTS
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Knowledge has higher inherent value when
locked into systems or processes
Knowledge and information ‘leak’ to where
demand is highest and the barriers are lowest
Intellectual capital is a key component of
value
Markets, products and resourcing are global
Laws, barriers and taxes of more than one
nation become applicable
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2a. THE BIOLOGICAL REVOLUTION
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Biological engineering
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Based on molecular and cell biology
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Discipline based – to replace biomedical
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Will impact all areas like computers now
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Should plan for it
o
Should develop and teach an
undergraduate curriculum
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2 b. THE ICT REVOLUTION
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Learn by participation/ experimentation in a
media-rich environment
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Faculty as facilitators and designers of learning
environments
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Increase in interdisciplinary teamwork
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Library as knowledge navigator and facilitator
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Experts replaced by software that can
browse knowledge networks instantly
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3. LEARNING PARADIGMS
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From "faculty-centred" to "learner-centred”
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Lifelong Learning
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Asynchronous Learning
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Affordable Learning
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Interactive and Collaborative Learning
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Ubiquitous Learning
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4a. INFRASTRUCTURE
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Bandwidth and Signal/Noise ratio
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Internet access and intranet capability
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Modem ports for off-campus students
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Public computer sites as effective libraries
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Net-based “open learning”
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4b. EXPERIMENTATION
 Information ecosystem is Darwinian
 Challenge is in creating digitally
mediated environments
 Experimenting with new paradigms is
essential
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5a. NETWORKING
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Co-operation
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Merging
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Libraries
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Promoting student- sharing
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Offering global educational services
Even hostile take-overs!
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5b. OUTSOURCING
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Admissions
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Counselling
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Tutoring
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Certification
Books by publishers
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Net-distributed educational service through
the entertainment industry!
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6a. DISTANCE EDUCATION
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Clear and easily documented need: 450000 seats;
35000 reasonable ones; demand increasing
exponentially!
India has no choice: even to maintain the current
levels a new major university needed every week!
Massive online education is an important
emerging market and therefore a business
opportunity.
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6b. TEL – AN OPPORTUNITY
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Technology available & will only improve
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So will communications band-width & computer power
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Opportunity to provide reach as well as exciting
improvement in quality
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TEL can be experiential, non-linear, goal-oriented
learning in a simulated, computer-based virtual reality
environment.
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Technology has made the creation
educational environments possible.
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7a. INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY
INTERACTION
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Universities no longer have monopoly over advanced
knowledge
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Industry is the source of most good questions!
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University is the source of most good solutions!
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Universities can use extra income to improve the quality
and relevancy of the education
Universities can help industry to develop international
competitiveness
University is the source of good quality manpower
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7b. THREE PARADIGM SHIFTS
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Innovation is neither a linear “scientific push”
or ‘ market pull' process but a non-linear
‘system integration and global networking’
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Competitive success depends on localised
concentrations of skilled people and
technology and not on national effort
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Universitiess should not only be investments
for the future but also direct contributors to the
creation of wealth
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7c. TECHNOLOGY PARKS AND
INCUBATORS
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Facilities for housing industrial R&D, new technologybased companies
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Creating synergy between university and industry
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Proximity and close interaction with universities
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Expert consultants, in-house development staff,
technical information/patent searches, materials for
development testing on prototypes and certification,
venture capital for start-ups
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Government to provide land and tax-concessions
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8. BRANDING
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Brands are critical in a marketplace
characterised by choice
Brand recognition assures customer trust in
both the tangibles and intangibles
Brand equity hard to measure yet it may be
company's highest value
Nation's brand is as important (or more)
Eg. Swiss watches, German cars, Japanese
appliances, Indian education?
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9a. PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING
• Nothing can be taught ! Suppleness of the mind
increased by diverse approaches to the same
subject
• The mind has to be consulted in its own growth.
The importance of personal committment
• Work from the near to the far – examples from
student’s own environment
• Repetition is necessary part of mass education
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9b. LEARNING AND CREATIVITY
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Sperry’s split brain experiments
The four steps in creativity
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The preparation stage – information gathering
The incubation stage – try to see the “whole
picture”
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The illumination stage - generate solutions
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The verification stage - test the solutions
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9c. EDUCATION AS A
SURVIVAL TOOL
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The delicate environment
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Natural selection to “artificial selection”
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Tools for economic survival of the individual –
information, resourcefulness, an elastic conscience and
some professional skills
Tools for survival of
the civilization as a whole knowledge, an abiding faith in the power of professional
knowledge to improve the quality of life of all people and a
sense of ethics, objectivity, aesthetics and history.
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9d. EDUCATION IN VALUES
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Informal structures of learning inspired by the great
scriptures and epics
Education in values mediated through
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the extended family
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religious discourses
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the village panchayats
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the law
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